Photo Gallery: Seabirds

Gentoo Penguin

Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

Gentoo penguins have plenty to be apprehensive about when entering Antarctica's frigid waters. To reach the summer's bounty of fish, squid and krill, they often must negotiate a phalanx of hungry sea leopards.

Baby Royal Tern

Photograph by Paul Winterman, My Shot

Young royal terns, like this one learning to fly on a Florida beach, leave their nests within a day of hatching. They gather with other hatchlings in groups called crèches that can be thousands of birds strong. At feeding time, parents find their chick in the crowd by listening for its unique call.

Black-Footed Albatrosses

Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic

Black-footed albatrosses like this male (right) and female on Hawaii's Tern Island may meet to dance and work on nest construction for several seasons before breeding, nurturing a bond that can last 20 years or more.

Australian Pelicans

Photograph by Amy Toensing, National Geographic

The pouched bill of the Australian pelican can be up to 1.5 feet (50 centimeters) long. These massive seabirds use a wingspan topping 8 feet (2.5 meters) to glide gracefully, often for hundreds of miles, using thermal updrafts to gain altitude.

Australasian Gannets

Photograph by Lance Peters, My Shot

Australasian gannets have one of the most dramatic hunting styles on Earth. They fly low over the ocean in flocks, seeking crowds of fish. When a gannet spots a target, it folds its wings back and rockets downward, piercing the water like an arrow. A serrated beak grasps the prey, which is swallowed whole.

King Penguins

Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic

King penguins have established colonies across seven islands and island groups in the southern reaches of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. As tall as three feet (one meter) and weighing an average of 30 pounds (14 kilograms), they are the second largest penguin, after the emperor.

Puffin and Razorbills

Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic

Dapper black-and-white razorbills (at right) and bright-beaked puffins (at left and in air, at center) find a haven on Scotland's Shiant Islands. It's estimated that nearly 8,000 razorbills and more than 200,000 puffins use these islands as their breeding grounds each year.

Puffin

Photograph by Kevin Smith, My Shot

Bright-beaked Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives at sea, speeding through the air at up to 55 miles (88 kilometers) an hour, darting underwater to hunt, or resting on the waves. They return to land each year to form breeding colonies, collecting twigs and grass to build their cliff-top nests.

Kittiwake Bird

Photograph by Karen Kasmauski, National Geographic

During the summer, kittiwake birds, like this one guarding eggs on Alaska's Prince William Sound, form cliffside breeding colonies that can be many thousand strong. They spend their winters at sea hunting in flocks for fish and marine invertebrates.

Blue-Footed Booby

Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic

Blue-footed boobies are aptly named, and males take great pride in their fabulous feet. During mating rituals, male birds show off their feet to prospective mates with a high-stepping strut. The bluer the feet, the more attractive the mate.

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